Oscar Winner Mahershala Ali Could Be The Next Star Of ‘True Detective’

Once upon a time, everyone was deeply invested in True Detective. Matthew McConaughy made us all believe in the Yellow King and the road to Carcosa was filled with yarn walls and obsessive internet theories. And then season two happened. Despite a strong cast, the magic couldn’t be replicated and it seemed like the HBO show was dead before it could find its feet again. So when it was announced that there would indeed be a third season, fans were more than a little skeptical. However, a recent casting rumor could be just what HBO needs for people to get back on board.

According to reports, Mahershala Ali is in early negotiations to play the lead in the upcoming season of True Detective. Yes, you can take a moment to scream excitedly and breathe into a paper bag. Ali is coming off of a huge year in 2016, gaining major career recognition with an Oscar win for Best Supporting Actor for Moonlight and a stellar turn as the villain Cottonmouth in Netflix’s Luke Cage.

The creative minds behind True Detective have some serious ground to cover if they want to win back their audience, but casting talent like Ali is certainly a step in the right direction. Now they just have to write characters that actually seem like human beings again.

Season 2 wasn’t as bad as people say. The actual case they were truly detectiving was intriguing, and the characters were good. It just neeeded a few tweaks to the script to make it great (and a whole new finale, that was definitely bad). Can’t hit a home run every time. I’m excited for S3.